Tuesday, August 7, 2012

Sight

The creepiest aspect of this film - the surprise ending - is likely beyond the grasp of technology in the near future... the more mundane creepy aspects are being actively pursued right now.

But some of these "creepy" technologies have important and useful applications; a couple months ago I spoke with a guy pursuing the commercialization of an algorithm which could help autistic kids understand the emotional state of the people they were interacting with. It worked by analyzing voice patterns.

This guy wrote the voice analysis code as a school project. He'd just graduated. From highschool.
Welcome to the future.

That girl/date's reaction is, I predict, that of countless thinking people in the future, to avoid being drawn in to a dystopic electronic vortex, one largely created by the private sector but ultimately benefiting government. FaceBook is evil incarnate, if one recognizes the capabilities of current and future algorithm and data mining technologies.

Ineloquently, I call it "self-Orwellization", ie., G.O. would never have foreseen that it would not be the state, but rather individuals, that would assemble vast arrays of personal data and make that data readily available publicly. Voluntarily.

I expect a future where a small but thinking group reverts (to the extent possible) to an analogue life. This film just adds strength to my expectation.